In message , at 17:11:09
on Fri, 22 Nov 2013, remarked:
I generally agree with you but there are lots of tickets that can
currently only be bought from a ticket office. As an example can I get
a £2 travelcard for a child travelling with me while I use my Gold Card
from any machines?

Can one get any child tickets from machines? It didn't use to be possible.

A good question. Do resident children have some sort of "toddler Freedom
Pass" these days? When I tried to buy tube tickets for my children on a
visit to London a few years ago I couldn't, because the machines
wouldn't sell them and the ticket office at the station was unmanned.
--
Roland Perry

On Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:31:32 -0600,
wrote:

[Mizter T:]
There's no suggestion whatsoever that Oyster cards are to disappear
from the scene. So Oyster cards should continue to be available from
shops as they are now - and they're already available for vending
from Tube ticket machines (at least one machine in each station).

Really? I've never noticed one at East |Putney. And the ticket stop outside
shuts long before the end of service.

If there isn't one, then that will be fixed before 2015 (the year!).

I can't help but think that a lack of Tube ticket offices at main NR
termini and other arrival points (Heathrow, VCS etc) just isn't very
visitor friendly though - however much TfL might try and push Visitor
Oyster cards to visitors before they arrive in London, people are
just going to turn up and expect to sort it on arrival. (CPCs may be
a solution for some of those visitors, but not all.)

I heard there was a list somewhere of ticket offices that *are* to
remain open. A few stations stand out, surely: airports, King's
Cross, Oxford Circus, Victoria?

Agree. I found Berlin a little bewildering for visitors to get going on the
U & S Bahn.

The machines could be better but all you need to remember is that most
of Berlin is in zones A and B. The new airport is in C. Some places
have their own zones A, B and C within the global zone C, like
Potsdam. I'm beginning to see your point! A weekly/monthly ticket
has an odd name designed to confuse visitors (like the Swiss "tariff
community tickets" screen option that only sells to anoraks). Once
you've done all that, the transport is good quality, although the lack
of money for the bus service particularly has to show an effect soon.

Richard.

On Fri, 22 Nov 2013 07:53:28 +0100, Neil Williams
wrote:

On Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:38:08 +0000, Scott
wrote:
I take it Oyster cards will still be available at retail outlets;
also
the ability to add value to them. Will visitors and others you be
able to buy an Oyster card at NR main termini, either a the (NR)
ticket office or at a shop there, and at Heathrow etc?

You can now do both of these at ticket machines.

How do you buy an Oyster card at a ticket machine?

In message , at 11:44:05 on
Sat, 23 Nov 2013, Richard remarked:
The machines could be better but all you need to remember is that most
of Berlin is in zones A and B. The new airport is in C.

30 minutes from the centre of the City.

It's a shame it doesn't show up here though:

http://www.bvg.de/index.php/de/binar...80593/file/1-1
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 12:59:36 on
Sat, 23 Nov 2013, Scott remarked:

How do you buy an Oyster card at a ticket machine?

Apparently (although I've not tried it) at least one machine at all but
one TfL station will now vend you an Oyster as well as a paper ticket.

No doubt it will be "unregistered" as collecting all that data with a
huge queue behind you would be an issue.
--
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry" wrote

A good question. Do resident children have some sort of "toddler Freedom
Pass" these days? When I tried to buy tube tickets for my children on a
visit to London a few years ago I couldn't, because the machines wouldn't
sell them and the ticket office at the station was unmanned.

Children aged 5 - 10 travel free on London Buses, and free on London
Underground if accompanied by a fare-paying or Freedom Pass holding adult.
Children of this age also travel free unaccompanied if they hold an Oyster
Photocard - this is available to non-resident children as well as London
residents.

Children aged 11 - 15 travel at child fare, but need an Oyster Photocard to
obtain the Oyster child fares (which are much lower than cash Child fares).
It does appear that there are some child fares only available from ticket
offices (e.g the £2 Day Travelcard available to children accompanying a Gold
Card or Network Card holder.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx and click on therelevant tabs.

Peter

On Sat, 23 Nov 2013 12:59:36 +0000, Scott
wrote:
How do you buy an Oyster card at a ticket machine?

Google it. The design of the narrow machines has been modified to
allow the issue of Oyster cards.

Neil

--
Neil Williams. Use neil before the at to reply.

On Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:04:59 +0000, David Cantrell
wrote:

On Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 12:11:38PM +0000, Mizter T wrote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25025888

Blimey - I knew fewer ticket offices is the general direction of things,
but wasn't expecting quite such a radical proposal. The pill is of
course sweetened by the plan for 24hr running on some Tube lines, which
in its own right is most welcome.

I wonder how they're going to cope with Oyster problems - the only thing
I use a tube ticket office for these days. eg, sorting out things like
"This card has stopped working, please give me a new one and transfer my
balance". And of course "I don't want this card any more, give me back
the balance and my deposit please"

I can see another problem, for those who want to have a Senior
Railcard registered on their Oyster card. It's hard to see how that
could be done conveniently at a vending machine.

--
John Ray

On Saturday, 23 November 2013 08:56:21 UTC, Roland Perry wrote:
When I tried to buy tube tickets for my children on a

visit to London a few years ago I couldn't, because the machines

wouldn't sell them and the ticket office at the station was unmanned.

Was it open and unmanned or closed and unmanned?
When the ticket office is open it is not possible to buy child tickets from th machines.
However, staff sometimes wander away from their position to make tea, do some banking etc.

In message , at 18:30:10 on
Sat, 23 Nov 2013, John Ray remarked:
I can see another problem, for those who want to have a Senior
Railcard registered on their Oyster card. It's hard to see how that
could be done conveniently at a vending machine.

Ditto for the "student" railcard.
--
Roland Perry